Oh, Blizzard and their funny April fool’s jokes. Moreover – oh, Blizzard fans and their tendency to turn said April fool’s gags into a big deal. This time, someone’s actually made one of the gags flesh. Well, pixels. Blizz’s 2008 rib-tickler was the promise of a console version of WoW – only it was an Atari 2600. World of Warcraft: The Molten Core would, they promised, offer lush 2D graphics and the ability to move in any of 8 directions. Giggles!

And whaddaya know, you really can move in any of 8 directions. It’s 2 player, it’s very silly, it has a faintly terrifying degree of attention to detail and it’s incredibly difficult. Well, I say that, but I was trying to control both Warrior and Priest myself. I can barely do that patting my head while rubbing my stomach thing, so that was clearly a bad idea. I wiped at the first fight, which was reasonably reflective of my general WoW dungeon experience.

Grab it for no-pennies from here, though be aware it’s more an elaborate pun for WoW devotees than a fun time in and of itself.

There was another version (or an earlier version? I’m not sure) out a few months back, which I have nestled in my computer. Seems that this one is getting more press. Nice to see the joke made real, anyway! Hilarious stuff!

Molten Core occupies a weird place in my mind. On one hand, it has a lot of history in terms of the game’s progress and I have a lot of nostalgia for it (and the whole Blackrock Mountain experience, really). On the other hand, it’s the worst fucking raid instance in the game. I mean, it is pure shit. Blizzard has come a long way since then but it’s odd to have so many warm feelings for a place I hate so much.